Carter Covington on the end of “Faking It” and tomorrow’s series finale

Roughly 15 minutes after the public announcement that Faking It’s third season would be its last, I was on the phone with showrunner Carter Covington. We spoke about what would have happened in season four, the choice to leave Amy unlabelled, and his thoughts on the Lexa pledge, all of which he addressed with his typical candor. Please bookmark the interview for after Tuesday if you wish to remain un-spoiled for the finale.

AfterEllen.com: Hi Carter! How are you today?

Carter Covington: Oh you know, I’ve had better mornings.

AE: I can believe it. I just saw your tweet; are you just now finding out [that the show was canceled]?

AE: Well I’m sorry. I can really only imagine how painful and frustrating that must be for everyone on the cast and crew.

CC: I appreciate that. I think we’re all sad but also grateful. And glad to have these interviews, where we can express that.

photos via MTV

AE: Yeah, it feels like coming full circle, because you and I spoke right after the Season 1 finale, when I think I earned some of my most dedicated haters. But it’s still one of my favorite interviews I’ve ever done. And I had decided—even before the announcement that Faking It wasn’t going to continue—that I wasn’t going to be able to continue to cover it because the fandom had become so difficult to work with and work around. So I’m glad at least we can leave at the same time.

CC: I’m sorry you’ve had that experience. I think it’s a vocal part of the fandom, but it’s the one you deal with the most, and I share your pain.

AE: So I watched, or I watched part of the season finale last night, and I really enjoyed it. Do you feel good about going out on that note?

CC: I do. My last series, 10 Things I Hate About You, was canceled and it was a shock to me. I had created all these cliffhangers and fans were left with very little resolution. And we started breaking these episodes last summer when it seemed like we would have more. But we’ve never been a ratings no-brainer, so I knew there was a good possibility that we might not come back, and I didn’t want to leave fans in the same situation.

So we thought a lot about how to craft a season finale that leaves a door open for where we want to go with the story, but also can stand alone as a nice closure for fans. And I think people would have been really upset if the show had ended with Amy not happy. And Sabrina came in as a great vehicle to stir up drama with Karma, but also as a chance for Amy to have what she couldn’t have with Karma at the end of season one. It felt like if we could end the series with Amy in a happy place, both with Karma and with someone she loves, it would be a rewarding series finale. It may not the be one everyone wanted to see, but it would be a place where fans wouldn’t feel left in limbo.

AE: Well I think it was a strong choice. And now that it’s over, can you talk about where you would have wanted the story to go, had it continued?

CC: Yeah, I’m writing something up to share in my own words what a final season would have looked like. My vision had always been that the final season of the show would be [more about] Karma. We started the show from Amy’s perspective, and we were slowly shifting the show, even in this season, to Karma’s perspective. So Karma would come to recognize that her intense feelings around Amy were possibly more, and maybe she made a mistake saying no to her at the end of Season 1.

It’s always been my intention to explore them being a couple in the last season. And I let MTV know that it was how I wanted to do it. But it felt to me like that would have been a rewarding last season, and I didn’t want to burn through it earlier because I felt like the chemistry between them and the will-they-or-won’t-they is an important part of the show. I’ve been trying to tell a rewarding story that leads to that ending, but it’s hard when you don’t know how much story you have left to tell. So now we’re in a place where I don’t get to tell that story, and I know a lot of fans will feel cheated because I’ve been very upfront that I wanted to explore it. And to those fans, I apologize. There’s nothing else to say other than I’m sorry they don’t get to see that. They probably feel like they were promised that, and it’s my one regret.